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Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Last time when I was in Mexico, taking care of the garden, I felt a bit nostalgic. They were so many plants there that I had seen grow for years. So many memories and experiences in that garden. I remember shopping for flowers with my mom; Trimming all the fence's bugambilia and seeing it bloom so many times; Planting the trees with my dad, then witnessing them grow so big; Raising butterflies from the orange tree; Taking photos of the hummingbird; Planting flowers on top of a huge old tree root every year until the root was all gone; And so many other things to remember.

But now, I don’t live there anymore. That house is not my house, and that garden is not my garden. I will probably never live there again, I won't get to see all the changes through the seasons nor enjoy seeing how new plants grow.

It is a bit sad, but so is life sometimes. Now my path has lead me to a whole new world where I will make new memories and have new experiences, but of course I will always have a place in my heart for my home.

My aloe and my agave

Because of all of that, I wanted to bring a little of my little garden in Mexico to Japan. There are so many plants I would love to have here, but most would be impossible to bring and some others would not grow well here.

In the end I decided to risk it and bring an agave and an aloe. I think they are very representative of my house and my country, also they can survive well and I like them a lot. The maguey(agave) has the potential to grow several meters, but If I keep it on check and in a small planter it should stay small.

The only thing is that, in my garden here, I don’t have hummingbirds to come visit my aloe in bloom every year. I guess I have to settle for a Japanese bumblebee.

So far the plants have been ok. It has been a bit to rainy and cold this last days, and they seem to have resent that a little, but now a couple weeks of sun are coming. I hope they will be enough to allow them to settle down before winter.

Before I came to Karpenissi in the mountain, I was living near the see on a island. But my husband had to come here for his job. In the beginning, it was not easy for me, new everything, and now, I love it.

Hey Fer, you're making us all sad! You haven't said why you live in Japan now, not Mexico, but I presume there are some good and happy reasons behind your move. I agree with Takaeko - you can get lots of moral support from your gardening friends.

Haha, sorry, I think this post came out a bit more down than I thought, I was thinking about how much my life has changed and got a bit nostalgic thinking about the good memories I have from back home.

It is very different from Mexico, but I do love my new life in japan. I came to study graduate school and still have some more years to be here.

Hi again Fer; I need someone to tell me more about Mexican cookery. Wouldn't it be cool to have someone living in Japan to do that for me??? First up -- I have recently bought a tortilla press, so you must tell me how to use it properly. I also want to hear your views on using chillis, especially chipotle. How have you found the transition from Mexican to Japanes food?

Thank you everybody! I so great to meet new people. I have been founding a lot of interesting blogs lately, so glad you guys like mine as well.

Mark, send me a mail, i can help you with your Mexican cooking. I love cooking! Rigth now I am doing sort of fusion style. Mexican recipes + Japanese ingredients, that until i learn a bit more about Japanese recipes.

You are bringing a little of Mexico with you to Japan through your gardening. I'm not a huge fan of indoor plants but I do have an aloe on my windowsill as it wouldn't survive outside. It's my daughter's plant really but I'm the one who looks after it.

Hi Fer, Plants from home can be your friend when you are finding your way in new place. When I was in Japan, I brought back along with me a south-east asia cooking flavour "pandanus" plant and keep it in my fish lab in aquarium along with medaka because it was autumn. The plant won't survive in my apato and I was like half-living in the lab anyway. Now in Australia , I am trying to grow vegetable and herbs that we usually have back in my country.

hi fer, good old memories always bring a little sadness isnt it but still sweet moments like that will stay with us forever so that we will look forward to new experience in life and make new memories...Happy gardening!

I like your aloe and agave, it's kind of wabi sabi, and where you might not experience that garden in Mexico, or in the same way at least, you are making some pretty cool garden memories on your balcony. Nice job in showing that gardening isn't based on size but on enjoying your experience w. plants.

It is good you have something here to remind you of home in Mexico. This is the beauty of gardening. When we look at the plants, we are reminded of fond memories of times spent with loved ones. Because the plants are alive and growing, the cherished moments shall remain alive in our hearts.

I do like those little wooden tubs you are planting in! They look beautiful even before you add all those exuberant plants. If you can achieve that on a tiny city balcony, wonder what sort of garden you will have, one fine day?! PS when you do a cooking post, remember the vegetarians too please.